Just as Yamada Jumoku and Motonoya Toko finished introducing themselves, a man who looked to be in his forties walked into the classroom.
He was broad-shouldered and muscular — so much so that he hardly looked like a ninja at all.
The fierce aura radiating from him instantly silenced the previously noisy classroom.
The man walked up to the podium, his sharp gaze sweeping across the students.
Very quickly, his eyes locked onto Yoruha and his two teammates.
"Team Eleven. Come with me."
The words were brief and to the point.
This man was the instructor assigned to Yoruha's team.
After speaking, the man turned and walked straight out of the classroom.
Yamada Jumoku and Motonoya Toko were both terrified.
"Why does our teacher look so scary?" Jumoku muttered.
Toko said nervously, "It looks like we're doomed."
Yoruha, however, didn't seem bothered.
Inwardly, he thought, This man has a powerful presence… and a heavy scent of blood on him. He must've come from the ANBU or some other secret division.
Still, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Anyone who's been in the ANBU must have real strength.
Not all ANBU were jōnin — some were chūnin — but even those chūnin were among the strongest of their rank.
"Let's go," Yoruha reminded the two. "If we don't follow now, we'll lose sight of him."
After Yoruha's team left, Naruto — who was sitting in the back — finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"That scared me to death! Poor Yoruha — his teacher looks really mean. I'll mourn for his ninja career in advance."
Sakura, sitting beside him, nodded with lingering fear.
"Who is that teacher anyway? He looked like he was about to kill someone!"
Only Sasuke looked thoughtful.
"That ninja's aura… it's similar to that man's. He must've been from the ANBU."
Compared to Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke's insight was deeper.
He could feel that Yoruha's instructor carried a presence similar to his brother — Uchiha Itachi.
---
Yoruha and his teammates followed their instructor in silence after catching up to him outside the classroom.
Jumoku and Toko were trembling slightly, intimidated by the man's aura.
Yoruha, being naturally quiet, said nothing.
Their instructor didn't speak either.
The four of them silently left the Ninja Academy and headed toward one of Konoha's many training grounds.
Konoha had numerous practice fields, many of them vast.
The most famous was, of course, the Forest of Death — twenty kilometers in diameter.
Standing before their instructor, Yoruha's teammates trembled uncontrollably.
Only Yoruha remained calm.
The instructor's eyes swept over the three, then fixed squarely on Yoruha.
A moment later, Yoruha felt an overwhelming force pressing down on him — a suffocating, oppressive energy.
It made him extremely uncomfortable, but he knew exactly what it was: killing intent.
Even so, he had no intention of yielding.
Though his mind wavered slightly, he stood firm.
The instructor was testing them — releasing a wave of pure intimidation.
Under that terrifying pressure, Yoruha's expression didn't change.
He seemed completely unaffected.
The instructor's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"How interesting… this kid."
His attempt to suppress Yoruha had failed, and now his curiosity was piqued.
After all, Yoruha was merely a newly graduated academy student — yet he had calmly endured something that even most chūnin couldn't withstand.
The instructor let out a booming laugh.
"Hahaha! Kid, you really surprised me! I thought they'd just dump a few green rookies on me, but it looks like I got someone interesting instead!"
His voice carried amusement now, though the pressure he had unleashed earlier had already turned Jumoku and Toko pale and trembling, their consciousness barely steady.
After all, this man had been ANBU — and the killing intent from someone like that was overwhelming.
Yoruha lifted his head, meeting the man's gaze.
"Sensei, I don't think it's appropriate to use such bloody methods on a group of trainee ninjas."
---
Although Yoruha had resisted the pressure, that didn't mean he hadn't felt its effects.
For a brief moment, his mind had gone blank.
If it hadn't been for the rewards from the previous night that had enhanced both his spirit and physique severalfold, he would've collapsed like his teammates.
The instructor was momentarily taken aback by Yoruha's calm rebuke.
After a pause, he sighed and waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, alright. I suppose I'm really not cut out to be a teacher for brats like you."
"If this were the old days and you'd spoken to me like that, I'd have beaten you black and blue."
"Kid, you're Yoruha, right? Looks like your academy teachers' reports were way off. You're anything but ordinary."
The instructor smiled faintly as he said this.
Once the oppressive aura vanished, Jumoku and Toko finally caught their breath — though their eyes still held fear.
They had never experienced anything so terrifying.
Both of them turned to Yoruha.
Under that crushing pressure, he hadn't even flinched — which made him seem frighteningly strong.
Just moments ago, they'd assumed he was about the same as them, but now they realized the gap between them was enormous.
What they didn't know was that the instructor's full killing intent had been directed mainly at Yoruha.
Even the lingering shockwaves had nearly knocked them unconscious.
If they'd known Yoruha had borne the brunt of it, they would've been even more astonished.
Yoruha didn't deny his instructor's words — offering an explanation would have felt forced.
The instructor didn't dwell on it either.
Instead, he seemed pleased.
"Alright, time for introductions. My name is Kimoto Tōichi. You can call me Tōichi-sensei."
"What I did just now was a little test. You all passed — especially you, Yoruha."
Kimoto Tōichi looked genuinely satisfied, even impressed.
"Alright then, your turn. Introduce yourselves."
At his cue, Yamada Jumoku raised his hand excitedly.
"Teacher! Teacher! My name's Yamada Jumoku!
My favorite food is grilled meat, and I hate green peppers!
My dream is to become the strongest ninja in the world — and then become the strongest Hokage in Konoha!"
He really was a lot like Naruto — even their dreams were similar.
But then, becoming Hokage was probably the dream of most kids in the village.
Tōichi chuckled.
"Then you'd better work hard. There are countless strong ninjas in this world, and to become the strongest, you'll have to work harder than all of them."
The oppressive aura he'd carried earlier was completely gone now — he seemed almost kind.
Beside Jumoku, Motonoya Toko still hadn't shaken her fear.
In a trembling voice, she said, "M-my name is Motonoya Toko… I'm twelve years old."
Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
Already cute and delicate, she now looked even more fragile — her long golden hair falling to her waist made her look strikingly beautiful.
Even Yoruha was momentarily taken aback.
Such a beautiful girl, yet she never appeared in the story…
She probably died during some mission before she could be remembered.
He frowned slightly.
Both Toko and Jumoku left a good impression on him.
Though they'd only just met, he already respected them.
I wonder if my presence here will change their fates, he thought quietly.
When it came to his own turn, Yoruha said calmly,
"My name is Kagefumi Yoruha. My dream is to become an excellent ninja."
It was a simple, ordinary dream — because, truthfully, he didn't have one.
Before he got the system, he had none.
Even after obtaining it, nothing had changed.
---
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